Leader rating

Synopsis

Leaving behind his wife and children to find his way in London, happy-go-lucky Bill Shakespeare quickly finds that writing plays for a living isn’t as simple as he thought- especially when all the theatres are closed due to the plague! He and his new friend Kit Marlowe are forced to take other, less glamorous work. Bill’s long-suffering wife Anne, who suspects he isn’t doing as well in London as he claims, manages to get a pompous lord to commission Bill to write a play to impress the visiting Spanish guests at the court of Elizabeth I. However, things aren’t that friendly between England and Spain, and Bill’s play might just be setting the stage for an explosive showdown…

What our educators say

"It really is a chance for us to open children's minds to the power of film not just as a vehicle for entertainment but also as a way in to understanding their own world and the worlds of people whose lives are very different."